
SABBATH-SCHOOL LESSON QUARTERLY
11
voice, and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and
My laws.' And again, I know him, that he will command his
children and his household after him, and they shall keep the
way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may
bring upon Abraham that which He hath spoken of him.' It
was a high honor to which Abraham was called, that of being
the father of the people who for centuries were the guardians
and preservers of the truth of God for the world,—of that people
through whom all the nations of the earth should be blessed in
the advent of the promised Messiah. • But He who called the pa-
triarch judged him
.
worthy. It is God that speaks. He who
understands the thoughts afar off, and places the right estimate
upon men, says,
know him.' There would be, on the part of
Abraham, no betraying of the truth for selfish purposes. He
would keep the law, and deal justly and righteously. And he
would not only fear the Lord himself, but would cultivate re-
ligion in his home. He would instruct his family in righteous-
ness. The law of God would be the rule in his household: . . .
" Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for
righteousness; and he was called the friend of God.' And Paul
says, 'They which are of faith, the same are the children of
Abraham.' But Abraham's faith was made manifest by his
works. . . . There are many who fail to understand the re-
lation of faith and works. They say, 'Only believe in Christ,
and you are safe. You have nothing to do with keeping the law.'
But genuine faith will be manifest in obedience. Said Christ
to the unbelieving Jews, `If ye were Abraham's children, ye would
do the works of Abraham.' And concerning the father of the
faithful, the Lord declares, Abraham obeyed My voice, and kept
My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.' Says
the apostle James, 'Faith, if it bath not works, is dead, being
alone.' And .John, who dwells so fully upon love, tells us, This
is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.'
"—"Pa-
triarchs and Prophets,'.' pages 105, 126, 140, 153, and 154.
It is plain that the call of- Abraham and his experience con-
stituted a message of righteousness by
-
faith to the world. It
was a divine call to reformation of character,—from the self-
life to the life of faith revealed in implicit obedience to God.
Like Noah, Abraham was a preacher of righteousness by faith.
As Noah's righteousness was the kind which manifested itself
in following the Lord fully, so Abraham's righteousness was
testified to by his obedience. "By faith Abraham, when he was
called, obeyed to go out." Heb. 11: 8, A.R.V. These same prin-
ciples are vital in the threefold message to-day. A people is
now being called out from the world to receive the inheritance,